Re: Virtue/lute
Stewart, Well noted, I play my harps and my lute, and others, at home in a comfortable arm chair (with cushions under the main cushion to raise my elbows above the arms of the chair. But when I play the harps away I need to bring my stool that I've chopped and had welded to the exact height I want (a cheap folding stool, the welder cost me more than the stool, but it is portable). It came with a foam cushion, under which I've now added a lot more foam. But I still have to get up from it every twenty minutes. I'm sure that had I more personal padding on my butt it would be more comfortable, but then again had I that I might not live long enough to properly learn the lute. And I thought I was as good as anyone on Shakespeare's plays to the groundlings, but I never noticed the weaver Bottom. It is one of the pleasures of Shakespeare, to look for the puns or bawdy phrases aimed to the common audience, and yet see the other level of his address to the educated. The dialogue of the nurse and the retainer at the beginning of RJ, or any of a number of other things. Best, Jon *** Speaking from very bitter experience, I would advise against too a hard chair. As you play, you move slightly, like weavers sitting on hard benches working away at their looms , and the little bones in your bottom - the ones you sit on - will grind away on the hard surface. You risk getting the terrible affliction known as weaver's bottom, where the bits of gristle (or whatever it is) wear away off the bone. I am deadly serious, because it is an extremely painful condition. If you're quite plump, and your bottom has lots of padding (as it were), you'll probably be OK. If your bottom is not well-endowed, put a cushion on the hard surface of the chair. This condition was known at Shakespeare's time. In _A Midsummer Night's Dream_, Nick Bottom is a weaver, who is a bit of a fool, and who is transformed into a donkey. Most people spot all the puns with the word ass, which can mean donkey, fool, and a person's bottom; but the other play on words, the connection between Weaver and Bottom, is usually overlooked. Best wishes, Stewart. - Original Message - From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 12:27 PM Subject: Virtue/lute Recently there was a discussion, which I glanced at, about lute music/virtue. I have in the last days discovered yet another virtue of the lute. This winter in the UK has been horribly damp and I've gone and got a touch of lumbago (shot in the back by a witch, as the Germans say). And the only position I feel comfortable in is sitting upright on a hard chair playing my lute, with a hot-water bottle behind me. Somehow the combination of the hard chair and the position required to play the instrument relieve the pain, and course the music does the rest. So crappy days have been turned into happy days, thanks to the virtues of - the lute. Happy New Year to one and all Tom Beck
Re: Virtue/lute
I can't disagree with Tom Beck, as we all have different bodies, and different ages, and different aches and pains. Nor can I suggest that his winter in the UK has been an easy one. But perhaps we each have different reactions to our local environments, and to the relatively fixed positions we take when playing an instrument. Someone mentioned a middle aged body on this thread. I've got one of those, and in fact one that by most definitions is considered elderly (and it had a rather nasty session with a crippling case of polio in 1945, but seems to be doing alright). So far, since the beginning of December, I've shoveled out from two snowstorms of two feet each - then come back to temperate temperature. Tonight it is 5 degrees F. (minus 15 C.), four days ago it was 50 F. (10 C.), and it will be back and forth all winter. New Jersey is a lousy place to keep and instrument in tune, but luckily the human body is a bit more flexible than the wood of a harp or lute. If I have any suggestion to offer for those with aches and pains from either practice or play it would be this. Move a bit between pieces, scratch your cat if you have one - or scratch your knee if you are absent the feline companion. Break before you hurt, then you can do it very briefly. If you are performing be Italian and talk with your hand (while waving your arms) as you introduce the next piece. Best, Jon PS, if you don't have a friendly cat a hot water bottle can be a help. jwm
Re: Virtue/lute
For me its the other way around. I keep doing the stretching exercises that my physical therapist prescribed so that I can sit and play without pain. Otherwise, when I tense up (especially during lessons, when I'm really concentrating) I can only go for a few minutes before the ache sets in. For me, a big part of learning the instrument is learning what I need to do with my middle-aged body to allow me to play. So the lute keeps me exercising and I get the benefits in the other parts of my life. But I've also noticed that the little things like correct posture, seat height, angle of the lute, angle of the left arm, position of the left thumb, etc., all make a difference in both my playing and my comfort. Tim Original Message From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Virtue/lute Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 07:33:07 EST In a message dated 1/8/04 7:28:08 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: And the only position I feel comfortable in is sitting upright on a hard chair playing my lute, with a hot-water bottle behind me. Somehow the combination of the hard chair and the position required to play the instrument relieve the pain, and course the music does the rest. I recall from a past LSA seminar seeing Jacob Lindberg using a specially designed wedge-shaped cushion which slopes forward at a low angle with a little gap cut out for the spot at the bottom of the spine. He said that it solved his back pain and gave him a comfortable posture. Recently, here in the U.S. I have seen these for the first time being sold in the Walgreens store chains (I think they cost around $20 or so). Kenneth Be Cleveland, Ohio --
Re: Virtue/lute
It's funny: exactly yesterday I sat with the lute, just by chance, on a sort of feetrest I have in front of my couch. It has a slight slope, more or less the same which the cushion described by Kenneth Be has. That moderate slope and the height makes a nice place to sit when playing. BTW, certainly most of you know about the swedish Balans chairs, which have that slope. Saludos from Barcelona, Manolo Laguillo [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In a message dated 1/8/04 7:28:08 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: And the only position I feel comfortable in is sitting upright on a hard chair playing my lute, with a hot-water bottle behind me. Somehow the combination of the hard chair and the position required to play the instrument relieve the pain, and course the music does the rest. I recall from a past LSA seminar seeing Jacob Lindberg using a specially designed wedge-shaped cushion which slopes forward at a low angle with a little gap cut out for the spot at the bottom of the spine. He said that it solved his back pain and gave him a comfortable posture. Recently, here in the U.S. I have seen these for the first time being sold in the Walgreens store chains (I think they cost around $20 or so). Kenneth Be Cleveland, Ohio --
